Tiling a non-uniform surface is challenging, even for an experienced tiler. Tiling may be particularly challenging when tiling around a non-polygonal element, such as a toilet flange in a floor. While there are many different types of toilet flanges, all standard flanges are circular and about seven inches across. Generally, it is necessary to measure tiles and to determine where to cut the tiles to fit snugly around the toilet flange in order to leave an opening for installation of the toilet and to leave no margins between the installed tiles and the perimeter of the base of the installed toilet. In general, once the location of the toilet flange is located relative to the tiles used for installation, the installer will use a grinder or a nipping tool to create curved edges in the tiles. Such grinding and nipping takes time and requires eye protection.
Also, the measurements necessary to shape the tile take time and some guess work is required. Consequently, mistakes are easy to make while tiling. When tiling around a toilet flange, an installer generally plugs the drain in order to keep construction debris from going down the sewer pipe, which would potentially cause a future blockage.